LEXINGTON, Ky. – With all five players in the top-nine on the individual leaderboard, the nationally fifth-ranked Anderson women's golf team is in first place following the first two rounds of the Findlay Spring Invitational, Monday at the University Club of Kentucky.
Findlay is hosting the two-day, 54-hole event on a par 72, 6,048-yard Big Blue Course layout.
"I was really proud of the way we played today," said Anderson Associate Head Coach Denton Moore. "Today was so consistent outside of two holes. We played two par 3's +13 and played the rest of a very difficult course -1. The ladies were locked in all day. Kennedy (McGaha) was our low score at 147 and Kerington (Lamb) was our high score at 150, With Emma, Jess, and Vic all at 148. That kind of consistency is fun to coach. We led the field in birdies and pars. We just have to clean up our strategy and thought process on those two holes and I think we will be in great shape to bring home another win."
The fifth-ranked Trojans are bidding for their second team title of the year and lead the seventh-ranked and host Oilers by one shot heading into Tuesday's final round.
No. 12 Grand Valley State is in third place, a distant 22 strokes behind Findlay, while 29th-ranked Missouri – St. Louis is one shot further back in fourth place. Tiffin and Northwood are fifth and sixth, respectively, while Wayne State occupies the seventh slot. Saginaw Valley, Ferris State and Trevecca Nazarene all share eighth place, with Northern Michigan and Walsh tied for 11th place.
Ashland, Malone, Ohio Dominican, Maryville, Davenport and UT Permian Basin rounded out the 18-team field.
Findlay's Kristina Kniesly fired a two-round, 2-under 141 and leads teammate Gabby Woods by four shots following Monday's first two rounds. The Oiler's Jill Schmitmeyer is alone in third place after carding a two-round 146.
AU freshman Kennedy McGaha offset a pair of bogeys with four birdies in the opening round and sits in a tie for fourth place with UMSL's Tove Brunell acfter both notched two-round 147s. Senior Victoria Hall, sophomore Jessica Rathbone and junior Emma Charles all share sixth place after carding two-round 148s, while senior Kerington Lamb is in a four-way tie for ninth.
"Kennedy was awesome today in round one. Vic, Kerington, and Jess were all consistent both rounds, and steady as they have been all year. It was really fun to have Emma (Charles) back in the lineup and on form. She was solid both rounds, and her closing 73 was vital," added Moore.
The third round is scheduled to get underway Tuesday morning with a shotgun start.
NOTABLES
• AU's first- and second-round 294s matched the 12th-lowest rounds in program history and the eighth-best rounds this year.
• The two-round 588 is the seventh-best round in school history.
• McGaha's opening round 70 marked her fourth-lowest score of the year and matched the 11th best round in program history.
• Hall's second-round 72 matched her lowest round of the year.
1 Anderson 294 294 588
T4 Kennedy McGaha 70 77 147
T6 Jessica Rathbone 75 73 148
T6 Victoria Hall 76 72 148
T6 Emma Charles 75 73 148
T9 Kerington Lamb 74 76 150
2 Team Scores
1 Anderson 294 294 588 +12
2 Findlay 295 294 589 +13
3 Grand Valley State 303 308 611 +35
4 Missouri - St. Louis 308 304 612 +36
5 Tiffin 310 305 615 +39
6 Northwood (MI) 318 314 632 +56
7 Wayne State MI 325 317 642 +66
T8 Ferris State 327 321 648 +72
T8 Trevecca Nazarene 330 318 648 +72
10 Saginaw Valley 325 325 650 +74
T11 Walsh 329 325 654 +78
T11 Northern Michigan 329 325 654 +78
13 Ashland 334 324 658 +82
14 Malone 331 335 666 +90
T15 Ohio Dominican 329 344 673 +97
T15 Maryville 339 334 673 +97
17 Davenport 336 339 675 +99
18 UT Permian Basin 340 346 686 +1
